St Mary's Church, Old Basing

Wessex Archaeology was commissioned by Mrs Trisha Renwick, Church Warden at St Mary’s Church, to undertake an archaeological test pit evaluation at St Mary’s Church, Old Basing, Hampshire. The evaluation was requested by the Archaeological Advisor to the Winchester Diocesan Advisory Committee (DAC) following the submission of an application to retile and level the existing floor in the north aisle. The evaluation aimed to assess the level of impact that the proposed work may have on any archaeological deposits. Five hand-excavated test pits, 1m square, were positioned within the area of the proposed groundworks and excavated to a depth of 0.50m; the maximum depth of any works proposed. No stratified deposits or floor surfaces survived beneath the existing floor, however two test pits in the north-west corner of the church, west of the north door, revealed a series of previously unrecorded brick-built barrel vaults of probable 18th-19th century construction. These structures were recorded to the level of the existing floor joists in at least one location.